Eagles getting ready to face Chicago Friday

Head coach Chip Kelly has the Eagles right where they need to be.
Credit: Getty Images

There is only so much a coach can determine from running drills and playing split-squad scrimmages. Chip Kelly is anxious to see how his team measures up against another NFL squad.

“I think the great thing about the preseason obviously is that you get to take your team on the road,” Kelly said. “You get to see what they are like in different environments, obviously for some of our players, just last week, leaving the NovaCare [Complex] and coming over to [Lincoln Financial Field], there was a change for them. You’re trying to put them in some different situations and see how they react.”

For the Birds, Kelly plans to keep it business as usual for most of the weeks prior to the preseason games.

“We have three really hard days of work that we have to get in this week, and 48 hours before the game we’ll slow it down a little bit because we have to do some work on the Bears.”

Barkley holds his own in Eagles camp

The battle to backup Nick Foles at quarterback hasn’t really heated up yet, but returning Eagles’ QB Matt Barkley is playing well as training camp progresses.

“Matt has done a nice job this preseason camp,” Eagles head coach Chip Kelly said. “He’s continuing to grow, continuing to get better. I think he’s been a lot better understanding of what we are doing so his decision-making I think really, it’s starting to get there.”